HIV/AIDS Information

What is HIV/AIDS and how is HIV Transmitted?

HIV infection affects the immune system. The immune system is the body's defense against infections by microorganisms (such as very small bacteria or viruses) that get past the skin and mucous membranes and cause disease. The immune system produces special cells called antibodies to fight off or kill these microorganisms. A special weakness of the immune system is called an immunodeficiency. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects, and eventually destroys, special cells in the immune system called lymphocytes and monocytes. Most people infected with HIV do not know that they have become infected. In adults, there is often a long, silent period of HIV infection before the disease progresses to "full blown" AIDS. A person infected with HIV may have no symptoms for up to 10 years or more. The vast majority of HIV-infected children are infected in the peri-natal period, that is, during pregnancy and childbirth HIV-infected people will ultimately develop HIV-related disease and AIDS. This progression depends on the type and strain of the virus and certain host characteristics. As HIV infection progresses and immunity declines, people become more susceptible to opportunistic infections. For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
fact-sheet-1/index.html

HIV transmission occurs in four main ways:

• 1. Sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal and oral) or through contact with infected blood, semen, or cervical and vaginal fluids. This is the most frequent mode of transmission of HIV world wide, and can be transmitted from any infected person to his or her sexual partner (man to woman, woman to man, man to man and, but less likely, woman to woman). The presence of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (especially those causing genital ulcers) increase the risk of HIV transmission because more mucous membrane is exposed to the virus. For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-12/index.html
• 2. Blood transfusion or transfusion of blood products (eg. obtained from donor blood infected by HIV) For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-12/index.html
• 3. Injecting equipment such as needles or syringes, or skin-piercing equipment, contaminated with HIV For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-11/index.html
• 4. Mother to infant transmission of HIV/AIDS can occur during pregnancy, labour, and delivery or as a result of breast feeding. For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/
  factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-10/index.html
• HIV cannot be transmitted by: Coughing or sneezing, touching or hugging, kissing, handshakes, insect bites, water or food, public baths, work or school contact, using telephones ,swimming pools, sharing cups, glasses, plates, or other utensils. For more information: http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-1/index.html
• WHO Fact Sheet: Teaching and Learning about AIDS for educators http://www3.who.int/whosis/factsheets_hiv_nurses/
  fact-sheet-9/

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HIV/AIDS and Adolescents

It is estimated that 50% of all new HIV infections are among young people (about 7,000 young people become infected every day), and that 30% of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS are in the 15-24 year age group. The vast majority of young people who are HIV positive do not know that they are infected, and few young people who are engaging in sex know the HIV status of their partners. http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health/HIV/
HIV_adolescents.htm

Why are young people particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS? Adolescents are vulnerable because they often do not know how serious the problem of HIV/AIDS is, how it is caused or what they can do to protect themselves. Many adolescents do not go to school, and do not have access to information about AIDS, or to opportunities to develop the life skills that they need to turn this information into action. Frequently they also do not have access to services that take their specific needs into consideration.
http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health/HIV/
HIV_adolescents_link1.htm

What is the focus of WHO with HIV/AIDS and adolescents? http://www.who.int/child-adolescent-health/HIV/
HIV_adolescents_link3.htm

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International AIDS Pandemic

The United Nations and the AIDS Pandemic

UNAIDS: The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, is the main advocate for global action on the epidemic. It leads, strengthens and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. http://www.unaids.org/en/default.asp

HIV/AIDS and Africa

Information on HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa which bears the largest burden of the pandemic. http://www.unaids.org/Unaids/EN/Geographical+area/
By+Region/
Sub-Saharan+Africa.asp

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Swaziland

http://www.unaids.org/en/geographical+area/by+country/
swaziland.asp

The World Bank and the AIDS Pandemic

What is the World Bank doing for HIV/AIDS in Africa? This website discusses their activities in various countries and is supported by reliable statistics. http://www.worldbank.org/afr/aids/

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The United States of America and its
role in HIV/AIDS

Center for Disease Control (CDC) Global AIDS Program (GAP)

Under the direction of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator's Office, Department of Health and Human Services CDC Global AIDS Program (GAP) is a partner in the unified federal government effort to implement President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. GAP helps resource-constrained countries prevent HIV infection; improve treatment, care, and support for people living with HIV; and build capacity and infrastructure to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The web site provides current information on programs in various countries including many sub-Saharan African countries, south-east Asia, and South America. http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/gap/default.htm

International Association of Physicians for AIDS Care

IAPAC is based in the USA and is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization. Its mission is “To craft and implement global educational and advocacy strategies to improve the quality of care provided to all people living with HIV/AIDS”. IAPAC works in partnership with the healthcare professions, business, government, academe, and religious communities to accomplish it mission through a comprehensive program of education, policy and advocacy, technical assistance, and care provision initiatives. It has an African Regional Office in the Republic of South Africa. http://www.iapac.org

AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts

Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is a not-for-profit, community-based health organization whose mission is to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic by preventing new infections and optimizing the health of those already infected. It is primarily concerned with HIV/AIDS within the United States. http://www.aac.org/site/PageServer

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Education Material for HIV/AIDS Prevention

This website allows you to download Sourcebook which aims to support efforts by countries to strengthen the role of the education sector in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. It was developed in response to numerous requests for a simple forum to help countries share their practical experiences of designing and implementing programs that are targeted at school-age children. The Sourcebook seeks to fulfill this role by providing concise summaries of programs, using a standard format that highlights the main elements of the programs and makes it easier to compare the programs with each other. For many countries, HIV/AIDS is a newly recognized challenge to the education sector, and as a result, very few programs have been in place long enough to be formally evaluated. Rather than delaying access to program information until success was confirmed, the Sourcebook combines two approaches to offer some assurance of program quality. First, the programs were selected by national experts because they show promise where they have been implemented. Second, all the programs were benchmarked against criteria that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) for Education considers to be sound programming practice. This provides a framework for exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the program design, pending more conclusive evaluation. The Sourcebook has been developed rapidly to fill an important gap in information on programming within the education sector. It is a work in progress, and the content will be expanded and refined in use. http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/Sourcebook/
sourcebook%20intro.htm

Reference Source for HIV/AIDS on the world wide web

AIDS Education Global Information System is a 501 (c) 3 educational corporation that is one of the largest free-access HIV/AIDS knowledge base on the web. Over 700,000 files, fully-indexed, cross-referenced, and keyword searchable and in many languages including English, Spanish, French, and German. It has a lot of country specific information and is updated daily. http://www.aegis.com/

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